Wake Up America Part 1

Quit crying about jobs ...

Most Americans do everything they can to make sure jobs are nowhere to be had.

You drive a Toyota, this company spent millions on advertising just a few years back to make you believe they are an "American" company, I told you then that they are not, they are a foreign owned company which means that the lions share of their profit goes back to Japan. They counter these claims with there manufacturing plants in the US, I told you then that yes they assemble cars in the US but a large portion of the components come from Japan, now they are cutting production here in the US because of the recent disaster in Japan which is limiting the parts they are able to get ... oops.

Even if you don't drive Toyota you have most of your worldly possessions all manufactured in foreign countries or manufactured in the US by foreign based companies, you are not proving what a savvy shopper you are, you are not proving how globally minded you are, the only thing you are showing the rest of us is how little you care about your country and your countrymen.

So today, when you get in your Japanese car, in your made in Mexico clothes, go home and turn on your made in China TV or Stereo, cook up your Canadian salmon in your Indonesian toaster oven .... don't cry because you don't have a job.

Fantasy Island

Why is it that liberals all want to live on Fantasy Island, a land of Utopian bliss where everyone gets what they want, the land is unmarred by any sign of human existence and no one is expected to bear any personal responsibility for their choices in life ???

Problem #1. Unless we are all mind numbed robots who are perfectly programmed to have exactly the same goals, ideals and use exactly the same methods to get to those goals then someone is going to be unhappy .... the only way to achieve total agreement between all parties on everything is to have a world population of 1 ....

Problem #2. Even with the solution to problem 1 we cannot make the goal of no impact on our environment ... we do that by existing. Do I have a problem with "going green", NO, but be realistic, make the technology work and then persuade people to switch over to it, you can't mandate that we switch over and then make the technology work.

Problem #3. No personal responsibility is what has gotten us into this mess!!! Live with the fact that things do go wrong and it may be your fault. Take responsibility and don't spend all of your time finding someone else to blame for your choices.

Fwd: Statehouse eUpdate

Oh look, my State Rep. is back to work and blocking things that Hoosiers want. I received this update on Friday.

I'll see if I can take time to go into details on each of these bills that Mr. Battles talks about, but like most conservatives I have a job that I just can't abandon to make a point.

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Statehouse eUpdate from State Representative Kreg Battles 

====================================================== 

April 15, 2011 

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INDIANAPOLIS -- The 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly will be over in  two weeks. 

The end cannot come soon enough for the people of Indiana. 

In recent days, we have seen progress on a series of bills that I suspect  will be hailed by 

those in charge of the Legislature as being among this  session's greatest accomplishments when 

we finish our business on April 29.      

As you shall see, I think it would be more accurate to say they are in the  public's worst 

interest.      

Senate Bill 589 is pitched as one of this session's best job creation  measures. 

Considering that we still have close to 290,000 Hoosiers out of  work--and that number itself is 

lauded by some as a positive sign--it is good to  see that those in charge of the Legislature 

finally show some interest in  creating jobs. But will it achieve that goal?      

SB 589 proposes to put Hoosiers to work by cutting the state's corporate tax  by nearly 25 

percent. Will that inspire big corporations to hire more people or  will it simply put more 

money in the pockets of the shareholders who run these  corporations? We shall see.      

We do know that SB 589 gives those corporations a tax cut of close to $80  million. We also know 

that Hoosier families are going to have to make up at  least half the revenue lost because of 

that tax cut. I leave it to you to decide  who truly benefits from this legislation.      

Senate Bill 575 is touted as a way to reform our schools. 

In truth, it  proposes to take the authority for critical decisions involving the salaries and  

benefits for our teachers away from our local schools and into the hands of  officials in 

Indianapolis. It also removes the ability of classroom instructors  to provide valuable input on 

decisions affecting school safety, class sizes and  other education reforms.      

Thanks to your help, we did succeed in making changes to legislation (Senate  Bill 473) that was 

originally designed to give the governor unlimited authority  to place tolls on new and existing 

roads in Indiana.      There was enough public outrage at this potential abuse of power that 

even  those in charge decided that changes had to be made. The governor will not be  able to 

convert an existing road into a toll road.      However, the bill still gives the governor the 

ability for the next 10 years  to put tolls on new roads, as well as any new lanes on existing 

roads. It also  enables the governor to continue giving foreign investors the best shot at  

taking control of any new toll roads.      In other words, a bill that was completely bad is 

only very bad. Any new  road built through a public-private partnership over the next decade 

still could  be tolled, and you still would not have much of a chance to stop it.      

Considering that these changes still must be approved in the Indiana  Senate--where the idea of 

giving the governor this absolute power over roads got  its start--I would say there is a very 

real risk that unlimited tolling still  might become reality before the end of this session.      

There was some positive news this week.      

We did move quickly to pass legislation (Senate Bill 86) that will keep  close to 12,000 

out-of-work Hoosiers from being at risk of losing their  unemployment insurance benefits. The 

action was required to allow displaced  workers to take advantage of a federal program that can 

provide up to 13 weeks  of benefits so these men and women can continue to support their 

families while  they look for work.      This measure passed by strong bipartisan margins in 

both the House and  Senate. It is a shame there wasn't the same unity shown to strike down the 

law  passed earlier this session that will cut the average weekly unemployment  benefits by 25 

percent next year.  

======================================================  

If you want to talk to me about any of the issues being debated in this session,  you can call 

the toll-free Statehouse telephone number of 1-800-382-9842, write  to me in care of the Indiana 

House of Representatives, 200 W. Washington St.,  Indianapolis, IN 46204, or email me at h64@in.gov>.  

======================================================  

Thank you for your interest in state legislative matters. If you would like to  be removed from 

this distribution list, simply send a reply to this email after  typing "unsubscribe" in the 

subject line.  

====================================================== 

Statehouse eUpdate from State Representative Kreg Battles 

======================================================  

Fwd: MegaVote: IN 8th, 4/18/2011

 Congress.org (congress.org) presents:

  M E G A V O T E  April 18, 2011  In this MegaVote for Indiana's 8th Congressional District:  

Recent Congressional Votes -  

* Senate: Fiscal 2011 Health Care Overhaul Funding  

* Senate: Fiscal 2011 Planned Parenthood Funding   

* Senate: Fiscal 2011 Spending Agreement  

* House: To repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund  

* House: Fiscal 2011 Spending Agreement  

* House: Fiscal 2011 Health Care Overhaul Funding  

* House: Fiscal 2011 Planned Parenthood Funding  

* House: Fiscal 2012 House Budget Resolution  

================================================================= 

Editor's Note: 

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Both the Senate and House are in recess until Monday, May 2, 2011.  

================================================================= 

Recent Senate Votes: 

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Fiscal 2011 Health Care Overhaul Funding http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=59&chamber=S&congress=1121 

Vote Rejected (47-53)  

The Senate rejected this enrollment correction resolution that would have  blocked funding for 

the implementation of the health care law in the 2011 fiscal  year spending bill.  

The House adopted the resolution.  

Both chambers had to  pass the resolution for it to be included in the final spending bill. 

Sen. Dan Coats voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=66&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=66)  

Sen. Richard Lugar voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=234&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=234)   

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Fiscal 2011 Planned Parenthood Funding  

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=60&chamber=S&congress=1121 

Vote Rejected (42-58)  

The Senate rejected this enrollment correction resolution that would have  blocked funding for 

Planned Parenthood in the 2011 fiscal year spending bill.   The House adopted the resolution.  

Both chambers had to pass the resolution for  it to be included in the final spending bill. 

Sen. Dan Coats voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=66&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=66)  

Sen. Richard Lugar voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=234&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=234)   

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Fiscal 2011 Spending Agreement 

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=61&chamber=S&congress=1121 

Vote Passed (81-19)  

The Senate gave final approval to this bill funding the government through the  end of the 

current fiscal year.  Based on the agreement negotiated to prevent a  government shutdown, the 

bill provides $1.055 trillion in federal spending.  The  president signed the bill into law on 

Friday, April 15. 

Sen. Dan Coats voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=66&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=66)  

Sen. Richard Lugar voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=234&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=234)   

================================================================= 

Recent House Votes: 

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

To repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund 

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=264&chamber=H&congress=1121 

Vote Passed (236-183, 13 Not Voting)  

This House bill would eliminate funding for the Prevention and Public Health  Fund, which was 

established by the health care law.  Supporters of the bill say  there is no accountability to 

determine where the money is spent.  Opponents of  the bill say it would defund important 

prevention programs.  The Senate is  unlikely to take up the measure.  

Rep. Larry Bucshon voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=12062&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=12062)  

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Fiscal 2011 Spending Agreement 

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=268&chamber=H&congress=1121 

Vote Passed (260-167, 6 Not Voting)  

The House passed this bill to fund the government through the end of the current  fiscal year.  

Based on the agreement negotiated to prevent a government  shutdown, the bill provides $1.055 

trillion in federal spending.  The Senate  passed the bill later in the day, clearing it for 

the president.  

Rep. Larry Bucshon voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=12062&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=12062)  

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Fiscal 2011 Health Care Overhaul Funding 

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=270&chamber=H&congress=1121 

Vote Passed (240-185, 7 Not Voting)  

Following passage of the 2011 spending bill, the House adopted this enrollment  correction 

resolution that would have blocked funding for the implementation of  the health care law.  

The Senate rejected the resolution so it will not be part  of the final spending bill.  

Rep. Larry Bucshon voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=12062&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=12062)  

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Fiscal 2011 Planned Parenthood Funding 

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=271&chamber=H&congress=1121 

Vote Passed (241-185, 1 Present, 5 Not Voting)  

Following passage of the 2011 spending bill, the House adopted this enrollment  correction 

resolution that would have blocked funding for Planned Parenthood.   The Senate rejected the 

resolution so it will not be part of the final spending  bill.  

Rep. Larry Bucshon voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=12062&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=12062)  

----------------------------------------------------------------- 

Fiscal 2012 House Budget Resolution 

http://capwiz.com/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=277&chamber=H&congress=1121 

Vote Passed (235-193, 4 Not Voting)  

The House passed a budget resolution that calls for $1.019 trillion in  discretionary spending 

in the 2012 fiscal year.  The budget resolution would  allow for $2.859 trillion in overall 

spending.  The resolution is non-binding  but is used as a guideline for appropriators.  The 

Senate is expected to work on  its budget after the recess.  

Rep. Larry Bucshon voted  YES   

send e-mail (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/mail/?id=12062&mailid=custom)   

see bio (http://capwiz.com/congressorg/bio/?id=12062)  

=================================================================